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THE GOOD FIGHT
Posted On 01/31/2008 21:08:52 by derfus
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BLOGGING THE BIBLE
By Derfus
1st February 2008
[ Derfus Note: Dear Sosyalan friends, this is by first ever Bible Blog and it is fitting to start with fighting for our faith, fighting for the good fight.]
The Good Fight
“I have sought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith”(2 Timothy 4:7) &nb sp; &nb sp;
Bad to worse?
In light of all the bad news we have been hearing, flood, drought, sickness in the family, death in the family. When all in the same week things get bad and then get even worse; when the average price of gasoline go up again and again, companies closed and we will lose our jobs; some of us may feel that things get so bad, that it doesn’t work anymore ! we become pessimistic, we surrender.
Forgetting where we are
Christians can get really discouraged by hearing about all the bad news happening in our community, nation and world, yet such news should not catch us by surprise. In the above verse Paul said, “I have fought the good fight” (2 Timothy 4:7). Due to our tremendous prosperity and security, Christians sometimes can easily forget that this life is supposed to be a struggle and that there is a battle between good and evil being waged in this country as well as in the rest of the world. The term fought means to compete, or struggle and is found in many other passages (1 Corinthians 9:25; Colossians 1:29; 4:12; 1 Timothy 6:12). So what do we mean by a fight? A “Good Fight”?Serving God and sharing the gospel with others is the “good fight” that is, the fight worth fighting. Apostle Paul wrote his second letter to his friend Timothy while he is in jail awaiting execution in Rome. “His entire life as an apostle has been a ceaseless, strenuous conflict with evil men and with forces of spiritual wickedness. In contrast to the struggles in the games, this has been a ‘good’, a noble, grand contest, the grandest contest in which man can engage”. Yet even Christians can get tired to fighting. Our attitude is sometime like this-- “As long as I am comfortable I could really care less what is happening around me?”
God still reigns
When we act upon doing good to our neighbors, then no one will make us despair or give up. “That the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever He wishes” (Daniel 5:21). Sometimes God gives a leader to a nation who is better than that nation deserves. [Wish nating lahat] Then there are times when God gives a nation a leader who is far more evil than the nation deserves.[ Remember Iraq, Darfur, now Kenya] Sometimes God gives a nation a leader that it actually deserves.[ San pa?Bakit pa tayo lalayo- si Macoy, Si Cory, Si Tabako, Si Erap, Si Gloria—hanggang kailan tayo magaantay ng kaginhawahan sa buhay?]
God’s definition of winning
Drugs, alcohol, pornography and crime remain rampant, does this mean that all our efforts have been in vain or that we lose? The answer is no. In the short-term our culture will lose and this nation may not survive, but we as Christians do not lose. The “world” will always exist. It is our task to save as many people as we can (Mark 16:15-16). Kailan pa tayo kikilos?Di natin kailangang maging utak pulbura. Nagdaan na tayo dun. The culture might be past a point of no return, but individuals can still be saved. It might be well for us to review the secret of a life well lived.
Here are the three secrets:
1. A Good Fight is worth fighting for
2. Desertion Does not mean Defeat
3. Faith Must not Be Lost
Tags: BIBLE BLOG
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